Fierce Grace Be Here Now
Richard Alpert became Ram Das when he was given a psychic reading by Neem Karoli Baba Maharaji (not to be confused with maJaraji the cult leader)in India. That's the simple version of a long and interesting path which led Richard to India, but in the blink of an eye . . . or the twinkle of some stars more specifically, Richard became the great Ram Das, author of
BE HERE NOW.
Richard had been a child of the sixties and early seventies. A child of wealth and prestige & grew up to be a Harvard Professor with a corner office next door to Timothy Leary's office, I might add.
Needless to say, Tim had a big impact on Richard and the two were fired from Harvard for experimenting with mind altering psychological substances which where illegal and questionable.
After weeks and months of parties, Richard went to India and found a culture (Krishna) which lives & believes in the truth - God is INSIDE and that is all which is needed (not LSD or shrooms etc. to get you there).
The night before he met the Maharaji, a beloved Saint of many, he looked up at the sky and gazed at the stars which outlined the sky like a table cloth of lace. He thought of his mother who had recently passed over only six months before.
When he saw Maharaji the next day he witnessed the Guru's 'devotees' w down to kiss his feet. Richard didn't do this. He stood with his hands in his pockets and watched things unfold.
Maharaji told him to come closer and he said to Richard, "Last night on the way to see me, you looked at the night sky and thought of your mother".
He then proceeded to tell him many other things which were very specific and special only to him. By the time this meeting was over, Richard transformed under the loving energy and attention of this famed Majaraji & accepted him as his Guru. He then took the name Ram Das (God's Servant').
Ram Das had & still has many followers and wrote many books. He recently had a major stroke which left him disabled in a wheel chair. In my opinion his teachings are even MORE powerful now in his old age.
I just finished watching the documentary called Fierce Grace - what Ram Das refers to as his stroke & the challenges he faces now. It's fascinating. I cried through most of this movie tonight, actually.
Ram explained that before he met Maharaji he had many secrets which he told nobody, because he believed that he would not be loved if he told them.
Here was Maharaji who knew everything & loved him anyway. Ram felt he could forgive himself of every fault and feel true self love as a result. It was his path, his personal miracle.
Maharaji took a handful of LSD, he was old and one pill would have been enough to affect dramatically any young person. Ram Das watched him closely and nothing happened.
Maharaji taught Ram Das that what he had been searching for through substances WAS ALREADY IN US. GOD/DESS IS ALREADY WITHIN US.
This brought Ram Das to the truth of our divinity and connectedness to God/dess and all that IS.
Ram Das refers to the experience of his stroke as FIERCE GRACE.
The BE HERE NOW man still continues to be content in the moment. And THIS moment. AND this moment . . . smile.
Thought I'd share! It's a GREAT movie.
Light!
Fawn